NFL Week 15 Game Preview: Bengals vs. Steelers

The Cincinnati Bengals (9-4) enter today’s week 15 match-up against the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-8) with a chance to clinch a playoff berth for the third straight season, while the Steelers maintain the more modest goal of simply trying to stay relevant and alive.

As a team that needs to win out to have any hope of making the postseason as a wild card, the Steelers have absolutely no room for error today at home against their AFC North rival, who would love nothing more than to put the final nail in Pittsburgh’s coffin this season.

Since defeating the Steelers by a score of 20-10 in week 2, the Bengals have experienced their fair share of ups and downs this season, but have started to find their rhythm in recent weeks as winners of their last three games. A fourth consecutive win today, coupled with a Baltimore or Miami loss, would punch Cincinnati’s ticket to the postseason, so there’s no question that the Bengals will be fueled with extra motivation in going against a familiar enemy.

“We’ve just got to take care of our business and we’ll be all right,” Bengals cornerback Adam Jones told the team’s official web site. “If we just win out we’ll be OK. That’s all we’ve got to do: win out and let everything else take care of itself.”

For the Bengals to earn another win against Pittsburgh, they’ll need a solid defensive outing, which is something they’ve usually been able to count on this season. Despite dealing with a abundance of injuries on the defensive side of the ball, the Bengals have managed to hold opponents to fewer than 19 points per game and rank among the league’s best in quarterback sacks.

Of course, that’s bad news for the Steelers, who have allowed the third most sacks of any team in the league. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has already been dropped 39 times this season and has been stripped of the ball eight times.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, protection hasn’t been the only issue, as the once stout defense has given up 24 points per game this season. Considering the Bengals have put up more than 40 points in two of their last three games, the Steelers could be in for another long day on the defensive side of the ball.

All signs seem to be pointing to a fairly lopsided finish today, but interestingly enough, the Bengals are only favored by three points. The biggest reason for the narrow spread is likely Pittsburgh’s home field advantage, combined with the fact that Cincinnati has only gone 3-4 away from Paul Brown Stadium.

Even still, bettors should side with the hotter, more talented and seemingly more motivated bunch in this one. Look for the Bengals to cover -3 in the victory as they take another step towards the postseason.